There'll be a Hullabaloo in the Square come August

Published on Monday 8 June 2009 11:02

GEORGE Square will be transformed into an Indian-style garden, with a performance tent and bar, to replace the Famous Spiegeltent during the Festival Fringe.

Promoters Underbelly have taken over the venue, following the decision by Spiegeltent organisers not to come to Edinburgh in August.

The new venue, Hullabaloo, will feature the Bosco Tent, a 1908 German theatre tent, with music, comedy and theatre shows.

The garden will be transformed with pagoda tents, Indian furniture and oriental lanterns hanging from the trees.

The bar and performance areas will be on a smaller scale to the Spiegel Garden, which attracted some complaints from neighbours last year. Organisers say they hope to create a relaxing, "family-friendly" environment, with an eclectic mixture of shows.

The mirrored Spiegeltent had been a key feature of the Fringe in previous years, but organisers announced in April they were taking it off the road for six months to carry out essential maintenance.

Ed Bartlam, co-director of Underbelly, said: "We were already planning to bring the Bosco tent to Edinburgh, so we were delighted when we were approached by the University of Edinburgh and asked if we were interested in George Square.

"It's going to be on a much smaller scale than the Spiegel Garden. Perhaps in the last couple of years, the bar has become rather full-on. We want to get away from that and make it a relaxed environment to have a drink or food."

The programme will start with Mervyn Stutter's Pick of the Fringe, which features excerpts from some of the best shows on offer each day. New York pianist Dennis Crow, who has played with stars such as Ella Fitzgerald, will finish the evening with his show, which invites the audience to sing along.

Ed Bartlem and Charlie Wood already run venues at three sites in Edinburgh. Their centrepiece is the Udderbelly, a giant upside-down cow, at the sprawling Udderbelly's Pasture in Bristo Square.

A University Of Edinburgh spokesman said: "We have found an exciting alternative in Underbelly's Hullabaloo."